Aftershock
by Delylah
Summary: Yuna and her companions attempt to deal with the loss of Tidus. Missing moments on the airship, immediately before and after Tidus leaps. Wakka x Lulu, Tidus x Yuna.


**Author's Note:** This a small section of a story I began that would serve as a bridge between FFX and FFX-2. I doubt I'll ever publish the rest of it (it's unfinished and will likely remain that way, unless I get REALLY inspired by the HD version and start working on it again). But I liked this part of it enough to post here and it works well enough as a one-shot.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters from Final Fantasy X that appear in this story. They belong to Square Enix or whoever they are calling themselves these days.

* * *

Yuna could feel him going through her, the second time; it was different than the first. The first time she had barreled across the deck of the airship, determined to hurl herself into Tidus's waiting arms and cling to him until he promised to stay. But instead she had slipped through him as if he were made of air, slamming into the deck so hard that it knocked the breath out of her.

And as she lay there, stunned more by the pain in her heart than the pain in her body, she could hear him as he struggled to stay, even as the presence of the pyreflies around them spoke of the futility of his efforts. She realized that it was only by the sheer force of his will that he still remained in her world, and that she could either bawl like a child and hurt him as she was hurting, or she could release him gracefully and let him be at peace. Slowly she rose, ignoring the bruises in her flesh, and she steeled her resolve to say what she needed to before he slipped away completely; she owed him that much. As she focused her gaze into the distance, her back to him, she prayed for the strength to speak past the lump that had risen in her throat. She swallowed hard once, then again until she was able to force the words out of her mouth.

"Thank you," she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. She couldn't say the other; she couldn't do that to him, and she knew that somehow, he knew, even if she'd never said it out loud.

The silence was nearly deafening until it was broken by the soft thud of his boots against the steel hull of the airship and the jingling of the heavy, silver chain at his waist. A whisper of air swept her hair forward, and then his arms closed around her shoulders, solid and real. As his lips pressed against her hair, she closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of his body against her back; and then, it was almost as if he melted into her. A heat unlike anything she had ever known, save perhaps for that night at the spring, enveloped her as he filled every corner of her being for a single moment in time. It was all she could do not to cry out when he pulled away; the separation left her feeling even more bereft than before. Resolutely, he strode towards the edge of the ship where he hesitated for the blink of an eye; then, as she looked on with the rest of her guardians, he hurtled forward and dove off the edge of the airship.

Every muscle in Yuna's body tensed, as if urging her forward to follow him. But the last reserves of her strength failed her then, and as her knees buckled, Kimahri was there to catch her before she hit the deck a second time. She was vaguely aware of being carried into the airship to the cabin she had shared with Rikku during the last leg of their voyage. Kimahri situated himself on her narrow bunk as best he could with Yuna still cradled in his arms. He sat with his back against the wall and his legs stretched out before him, his feet hanging off the end of the bed. Yuna lay limply in his embrace, numb. Kimahri said nothing for the longest time; he simply held her, stroking her hair gently with one paw. Yuna had no concept of the passage of time; it may have been only minutes, or it may have been hours, but finally, Kimahri broke the silence.

"Yuna cry now," he said softly, his voice rumbling from somewhere deep in his chest so that Yuna felt it more than she heard it

I will not, Yuna thought defiantly, but even as she did, hot, scalding tears began to spill from the corners of her eyes, and the lump that had risen in her throat the instant she had seen what was happening to Tidus seemed to triple in size until she choked on it. A low moan of anguish escaped her at last as she turned her face into the furry, blue chest of her oldest friend in the world and sobbed.

Hours later, Lulu gently eased the door to Yuna's cabin open and peered into the dimly lit room. The sight that met her eyes nearly caused her to dissolve into tears herself, something she hadn't done since...well, since Chappu had left her. Yuna appeared to be sleeping quietly against Kimahri's chest, though every once in a while her body hitched with the remnants of a sob. Kimahri had both arms curled protectively around his ward as she slept. At first, Lulu thought he was sleeping, too, but as she began to shut the door, he opened his eyes and glanced over at her.

"Do you want me to sit with her for a while?" Lulu asked quietly, hoping not to disturb the girl.

Kimahri shook his head slightly. Lulu had thought not, but concern for both Yuna and Kimahri had prompted her to ask. Wakka and Rikku were in the galley having a quiet dinner with Cid, Brother, and the rest of the airship's crew. Lulu had finished her own meal ahead of the others. She knew that Kimahri must be hungry as well, and Yuna needed to eat to keep up her strength, though Lulu had little hope of convincing her to do so. Yuna's appetite had never been large in the first place; the kind of stress she had been under for the past few months had caused it to dwindle to almost nothing. Lulu shook her head in dismay as she observed the sharp angles of Yuna's shoulder bones protruding from her back.

"How is she?" another voice asked.

Lulu turned to find Rikku peering over her shoulder. The younger girl was carrying a tray piled high with food from the galley. Lulu stepped aside to allow her access to the room; after all, it was her cabin, too. Rikku approached Yuna's bunk and set the tray down on the small nightstand beside it.

"You should eat, Kimahri," Rikku said. "You're no good to her if you're wasting away from starvation. I've brought her a sleeping potion." Rikku produced a small flask from one of her many pockets. "She doesn't even have to swallow it; just break the flask and hold it under her nose so that she breathes in the vapor. She'll sleep 'til morning, guaranteed."

Rikku handed the flask to Kimahri, who snapped it in half with one paw. Delicate tendrils of pearly, pink vapor wafted out of the flask as he held it under Yuna's nose. The potion took effect almost immediately; Yuna's muscles visibly relaxed, and the furrows of tension faded from her face. Kimahri set her gently on the bed and pulled the covers up over her shoulders. He nodded once at Rikku, and then he took the tray she had brought, seated himself on the floor near the door and proceeded to eat without a word to either of the women. Rikku sighed forlornly and collapsed onto her own bunk across the room from Yuna's.

Lulu, seeing there was nothing more she could do for Yuna, slipped out of the room as quietly as she had entered. Her footsteps echoed softly as she walked aimlessly along the hallways of the ship. She nodded at the crewmembers she met here and there, occasionally uttering the few greetings she knew in the Al Bhed language. Rin stopped her to ask if her accommodations were suitable, and Lulu nodded without even really registering the question. When she reached the cabin she had been assigned, she was relieved to find Wakka waiting for her and was surprised to realize she had been looking for him. Wakka stood when she entered, as he always did, his features softening into an expression of relief.

"You okay, Lu?" Wakka asked hesitantly.

The question caught Lulu off guard. She had anticipated he would ask after Yuna, and had been prepared to answer. She had not expected him to ask about herself. She nodded in response.

"I was kinda worried when you disappeared after dinner, ya know." Wakka scratched his head in the manner he had whenever he was perplexed.

"I went to check on Yuna," Lulu explained. Her voice sounded raspy to her ears, as if she hadn't used it for days. She hoped he didn't notice. Uncomfortable, she moved over to the porthole to watch the landscape below. Judging by the rocky terrain, they were in the vicinity of Mt. Gagazet.

"How's she doin'?"

Lulu jumped at the question. Wakka's voice came from just behind her shoulder, and when she focused on the porthole, she could see his reflection in the glass. He caught her eyes, but she looked away, back down to the land below, which was quickly becoming enshrouded in darkness.

"She's sleeping. Rikku gave her a sleeping potion; she should have a relatively peaceful night." Lulu glanced up to gauge his reaction.

Wakka scowled. "I know Rikku means well, but I don't trust those Al Bhed potions. I hear they're addictive."

"That's all we had, Wakka," Lulu said wearily. She didn't want to quibble about the Al Bhed with Wakka tonight. "And it's just for one night. Yuna desperately needed to rest. Losing Tidus on top of everything else...I'm afraid it may be too much for her."

One of Wakka's large hands dropped onto Lulu's shoulder, rough and warm against her bare skin.

"Then maybe you should take one, too, Lu."

"I'm all right, Wakka," she said tersely.

Wakka caught her by the shoulders and turned her gently to face him.

"Nuh-uh," he said with a shake of his head. "You look like you're hangin' on by a thread. I thought you would be glad it's over. We won. And Yuna's still alive."

"But at what cost, Wakka?" Lulu cried, angry that he couldn't understand. When he didn't answer, she continued in a broken voice, "Don't you think she wanted to throw herself after him?"

Wakka's eyes narrowed. "Ya, Lu. I know she did. And I know you remember just how that feels."

"I don't have to remember it, Wakka!" she snapped, then continued in a sorrowful voice, "I live it every...single...day."

Something in Wakka's face fell. He had hoped that, after all these years, Lulu had finally begun to put the past behind her. They had grown so close the past few months. He knew he could never replace Chappu, but it didn't change the fact that he loved her, that he had always loved her, even when he couldn't tell her because she was his brother's girl. He had hoped that someday she would grow to love him, too.

"I see," he said in a gruff voice.

"Do you, Wakka? Do you really?" Lulu asked, anger replacing the sorrow in her voice once more.

A strange gleam lit her eyes, and Wakka wondered if she was about to zap him a good one. Lulu had always been a skilled black mage, but after traveling so long, honing her skills in combat day to day, she had become formidable. Wakka wasn't keen on being on the receiving end of a Thundaga spell. He was afraid if he opened his mouth he would either curse her and shake her until her teeth rattled, or else fall upon his knees and beg her to love him. Neither course of action seemed prudent. Instead, he gave her a short nod in answer, as he didn't trust himself to speak.

Lulu, however, wasn't satisfied with his acknowledgement. She'd kept her emotions pent up for far too long, and she couldn't do it any longer. She lit into him with all the fury of a hurricane.

"I don't think you do! For the past six months we've traipsed all over Spira, and every single day I've had to watch you throw yourself in front of every fiend under the heavens, without a thought for your own safety, armed with nothing but a blitzball!" she railed, taking a deep breath before she continued. "How was I supposed to guard Yuna when I was too damned busy worrying you were going to break your neck? And then with Seymour...and the battle with Sin...and Yunalesca...and the Final Aeon. For a minute there, I thought she might actually take you up on it, and where would that have left me? And I knew it was selfish of me, I knew it, but that didn't make any difference. You have no idea..."

Lulu had broken away from Wakka and was pacing in circles around the room, waving her hands in the air to punctuate her sentences and throwing off sparks now and then. Wakka watched her in shock, afraid that she had finally caved under the stress of the pilgrimage. But slowly, her words began to penetrate, and he realized that she wasn't talking about Chappu...she was talking about _him._

"Lu..."

"...blitzball tournament! Wakka, I thought you had finally succeeded in drowning yourself after that first match! You were barely breathing when they hauled you down to the locker room. And then you went back in! What were you thinking? And then the fiends..."

Lulu's voice had amplified a few notches during her tirade and the sparks were flying faster now. Wakka found himself dodging stray bolts in an effort to avoid being scorched.

"Lu?" he said, a little louder this time, in hopes of penetrating Lulu's tantrum, but to no avail.

"...nothing but a thoughtless, hare-brained jock! Risking your life on a stupid..."

_"LULU!"_ Wakka shouted at the top of his lungs.

_"WHAT?"_ she screamed as she whirled around and fired off another bolt out of reflex.

_"TURN OFF THE SPARKS AND SHUT UP SO I CAN KISS YOU ALREADY, YA?!"_ he fired back.

"What?" she asked, confused. She looked up at Wakka, and he realized she wasn't completely aware of what she had revealed to him. When he was sure she had her thunderbolts back under control, he crossed the room to where she was and stood in front of her. Only then did he see the tears streaming down her face.

"Lu? It's ok. Everything's ok," he soothed as he enfolded her in his big arms and held her tight against his chest.

"No, it's not," she sobbed. "Wakka, I feel awful for Yuna, but today, all I could think was, what if it had been you? What if I had lost you? Do you have any idea what that would have done to me?"

"But you didn't," he said gently as he stroked her back. " I'm right here.

"But that's just it. I was glad," Lulu said into his chest, which was damp from her tears. "Yuna lost Tidus and I was glad it wasn't you. What kind of horrible person does that make me?"

"Not horrible, Lu. Just human." Wakka eased his grasp on her, and looked down at her as she turned her face to gaze up at his. "You gonna let me kiss you now?" he teased.

Mutely, Lulu nodded. Wakka cupped his hands around her face and held her gaze for a long time, marveling that she had allowed him this close after he had waited so long. Finally, as he closed in to kiss her, he said softly, "Love you, Lu."

When Lulu smiled, Wakka knew it had been worth the wait.


End file.
